Adjusting means for air valves



April 16, 1940. E. A. DAVIES ADJUSTING MEANS FOR AIR VALVES Original Filed March 18, 1936 f %famr if &

Patented Apr. 16, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE Hoflman Specialty Company, Waterbury,

Conn., a corporation of Illinois Application March 18, 1936, Serial No. 6952* Renewed September 14, 1939 5 Claims.

This invention relates to air valves for use with steam radiators, the mains of steam heating systems, and in other analogous situations in which necessity may arise to release air from the radia- 5 tors and piping of the system while preventing escape of steam and water. Its object is to provide as a part or adjunct of valves of this type, adjustable means whereby the pressure needed for air expulsion and the rate of discharge of air may be adjusted and regulated.

Such regulation is important and necessary to effect control of the steam distribution among the various radiators connected in a one pipe heating system, and the rate of filling of radiators with steam after idle periods of the system when steam generation is checked; as explained in the application for patent of William K. Simpson filed March 18, 1936, Serial No. 69,511, and entitled Heat control with one pipe steam heating system, on which Patent No. 2,175,945 was issued October 10, 1939. The regulating means disclosed herein is one of the equivalent alternatives described or referred to in said patent for controlling steam distribution. However, the scope of the invention claimed herein is not limited to use with such systems only.

The invention consists in all novel characteristics and equivalents of the specific means hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawing, for controlling the escape of air and adjusting its rate of discharge and the pressure and time needed to expel it.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a side elevation and partial section of a standard radiator valve equipped with an air vent regulator embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of. the venting regulator taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the parts of the regulator dismembered from one another;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of an alternative form of the regulator;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Like reference characters designate the same parts wherever they occur in all the figures.

The air valve to which I have applied my invention commercially is one of the Hoffman valves, the principles of which are explained in the patent of George D. Hoffman No. 1,211,314, January 2, 1917. Such valve consists of. an outer casing I having a nipple II in connection with its base part adapted to be screwed into a steam radiator. A plug or vent fitting l2 secured in the upper end of the casing, forming in eifect an extension of the casing, has a passage with an outlet port l3 adapted to discharge air which has leaked into the radiator during idle periods of the system. Such port is controlled by a valve l4 projecting from the upper end of a float I5, which is also a thermostat. The float contains volatile fluid, and its bottom wall is a dished flexible diaphragm l6 resting on a rigid support H in the base. The movements of the diaphragm between its bulged inward and bulged outward positions sumce to raise and lower the valve into 10 and out of seating engagement with the inner orifice of the vent port; Wherefore the valve is opened when cooled to a few degrees below the steam temperature, and closed when steam enters the casing. Whenever water rises in the casing it raises the float and also closes the valve.

In the embodiment of my present invention shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a shell I8 is screwed to the vent fitting and firmly seated at its end against a shoulder I9 on the fitting, whereby it is made tight. It may be additionally secured and sealed by solder or other suitable means. In the side of. the shell is a port 20 which, when uncovered, establishes an outlet from the space enclosed within the shell. This port may be closed, or uncovered wholly or in part, by a shutter or valve element 2|.

Such shutter is a sleeve which is fitted rotatably on the exterior of the shell and is formed so as to cover the port 20 in greater or less part, or not atall, according to its position of adjustment around the axis of the shell. Accordingly the upper end of the shutter is open and the rim 22 of such open end is a helix of one turn, the ends of which are separated longitudinally of the shell in the axial direction by a distance approximating (or it may be somewhat greater or less than) the length in the same direction of the port 20. The shell is of contracting diameter toward its closed end, preferably with a spherical curvature, and the shutter is complementally contracted for a length suflicient to provide a binding engagement with the shell to secure it in adjusted position, when acted on by the clamping means presently described. In other words the end of the shutter which is bounded by the helical rim is thus contracted complementally to the external contours of the shell. The port 20 may be located in a position on the shell which brings its upper and lower edges between the highest and lowest points of the spiral edge 22, or approximately so. Preferably the location of the port is such that when the highest part of the shutter is placed so as to overlap it, a small fraction of the port area adjacent to its upper edge is open above the 66 highest part of the spiral edge. Then by rotating the shutter to bring other parts of the spiral edge across the port, the uncovered area of the latter may be made of any value to the maximum, which is obtained when the lowest portion of the spiral edge crosses the port; or when the lower boundary of the port is uncovered.

For securing the shutter in its diflerent positions, a nut 23 is provided, in mesh with a threaded shoulder 24 on thevent fitting and having an internal shoulder 25 which overlaps an external shoulder 26 on the shutter. Hence by screwing the nut downward on the fitting, the other extremity of the shutter, which overlaps the contracted part of the shell, is drawn down into tight frictional engagement therewith.

The form of shell and shutter here illustrated, which is mainly cylindrical and has a dome shaped end, is an optional feature. Other forms which provide an inclined edge for covering the outlet port in greater or less degree and an abutment suitable for clamping are within the scope of the invention.

.An alternative equivalent form is shown in Figs. 4 and 5, wherein the equivalent shell Ida has a substantially plane end wall and is rotatable about the vent fitting, except when clamped against the threaded shoulder 24 of the latter. The shutter Ma and nut 23a are made in one piece with diameters in different parts complemental to the threaded shoulder 24 and the exterior of the shell respectively. Between these portions of different diameters is an internal shoulder 21 adapted to bear on the outer side of the flange 28 which surrounds the open end of the shell, and clamps the flange against the shoulder 24 of the fitting.

A port 20a is formed in the side of shell lBa, and the upper edge 22a of the shutter is a helix, the lower extremity of which is substantially in the same horizontal plane with the lower boundary of the port, and the upper extremity nearly in the same plane with the upper end of the port. In adjusting this device, the nut is loosened sufiicientlyto permit rotation of the shell,

which is then turned far enough to cause any desired proportion of the port to be covered by the shutter, after which the nut is tightened to clamp the shell.

The formation of the shutter with a helical or spiral port-occluding edge has the advantage that a very fine and exact adjustment of the port area may be made. This effect is obtained equally whatever the contours of the shutter otherwise may be, and whether the inclined edge is the boundary of the shutter or (as it well may be) the boundary of an opening in the side of the shutter extending through less than its entire circumference. Marks or graduations of any suitable character to serve as a guide for setting the shutter to obtain any prescribed area of port opening, may be provided onthe shutter; for instance, in the manner shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A casing having a plug fitting containing an outlet passage, a shell secured to the end of said fitting so as to enclose the space adjacent to the outlet orifice of said passage and having a discharge port, a shutter sleeve rotatably mounted externally on said shell, and a nut threaded to said fitting and so associated with the shutter as to clamp the latter in various positions of angular adjustment; the shutter having a helical edge arranged to overlap the port more or less in different positions of the shutter in its angular movement around the shell.

2. A casing having a fitting at one end containing an outlet passage, a dome shaped shell secured to the fitting and enclosing the space ad- Jacent to the outlet orifice of said passage, having a port in the side of its dome portion, a shutter sleeve rotatably fitted on the shell having a contracted upper end complemental to the dome portion of the. shell, and an external flange at its opposite end, the upper bounding edge of the shutter being of generally helical formation and arranged to overlap the port more or less in different positions of angular movement of the shutter, and a nut screwed to the fitting having a shoulder overlapping the said flange of the shutter and adapted to draw the shutter into binding engagement at its contracted end with the shell.

3. A valve comprising a casing having a plug fitting containing an outlet passage, a shell surrounding the outer end of said fitting enclosing a space into which said passage opens and having a single escape port, a shutter surrounding said shell having an inclined rim, the shell and shutter being relatively rotatable one with respect to the other about the axis of said plug fitting and the rim of the shutter being arranged with respect to said port so as to occlude it more or less in dififerent positions of such relative rotation, and a nut element associated with said shutter, in threaded engagement with the plug fitting, and operable to effect a clamping engagement between the fitting, the shell and the shutter for 'maintaining the rotatable one of said shell and shutter members in adjusted position.

4. A relief valve comprising a casing having a fitting containing an outlet passage secured to said casing, a shell mounted on said fitting to enclose the space into which said outlet opens and having a discharge port, a shutter mounted contiguous to the shell in coaxial relationship therewith, the shell and shutter being relatively rotatable one with respect to the other about their common axis and the shutter having a rim formed to overlap said port and occlude it more or less in different positions of such relative rotation, and a nut mounted on the fitting in operative relationship with the shutter and shell to clamp the rotatable one of them in various positions of angular adjustment.

5. A valve comprising a casing having an extension containing an outlet passage, a shell of circular cross section mounted on said extension enclosing the space into which said outlet opens and having a lateral escape port, a shutter mounted to rotate about the axis of the shell and formed with a rim portion bounded by a substantially helical edge coaxial, and in surface engagement, with the shell, arranged to overlap and occlude said port more or less in different positions of rotation, and a nut threaded on said casing extension operable to eifect clamping force and reaction between the extension, the shell, and the shutter for securing the shutter in adjusted position.

E WIN A. DAVIES. 

